Pritam Da Dhaba — Restaurant in Mumbai

Today, after an important work in BKC was over, we took a ride to Dadar. The plan was to return to Pune by MSRTC Volvo bus, my favourite if not my Chevy and trusted driver. Preetam Da Dhaba was a restaurant on my radar since 1985. I used to walk by from the then Dadar Asiad bus stop to Dadar Railway Station and always wondered about the restaurant. Heard a lot about it, and with its rich legacy, I wanted to visit. It took me 40 years to be there and experience the truly great Punjabi food.

Today was the day. We were, incidentally, the first customers, bang at 12 noon. And a captain received us well and made us comfortable with a nice seating right in the middle. We glanced at the menu, asked for some recommendations, and ordered half Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Rahara, Butter Naan, and Paratha. It took a while, almost more than half an hour, which in normal circumstances would have been an inordinate delay. But today we knew the Tandoor preparation needs time, and we arrived dot at the opening bell.

First, Tandoori Chicken arrived. Just two portions, a complete leg and a breast. One look and I knew that would be something extraordinary, and it lived up to my expectations. Perfectly marinated and roasted chicken in Tandoori Bhatti, green chutney, and finely chopped onion juliennes. Chicken was extremely well-cooked. The outer edge was crispy, charcoaly near the bones, but the good bit of the portion was tandoored so well. I deliberately took a fork and pulled out one forkful of chicken. That was ethereal! Succulent chicken, good bite, and nice quality in every morsel. Not at all rubbery or chewy, the marination reached deep and coal heated it well. After a long time, I had great Tandoori Chicken. When the chicken is good, the accompaniments like mint chutney or tandoor salad onions play second fiddle as they should. They must play their part without overshadowing the main dish. Today we witnessed the same. After a few forkfuls, I tried hard for some time but soon kept the silverware, figuratively, aside and used my fingers to polish off the chicken.

Chicken Rahara was well-cooked chicken, gravy made of medium spice with, again, chicken kheema, minced meat, little juliennes of green bell pepper, heavily used onions, and their own spices. Not very discerning to me, but it was good. A little sourness, I would attribute to curd. I have this perpetual fear of something smelling and tasting sour, might have really gone sour. But sometimes curd, sometimes tamarind fools you. The best is to ask the captain, who confirms from the chef and reverts about the edibility. Rarely, they take it back too if they agree with my judgement.

Paratha was fantastic. This has become a staple for me with Punjabi dishes. First, it’s wheat flour and secondly, the complex multi-layered paratha comes like an enigma. Every layer has a story to tell with every dish, gravy, chutney, or pickle.

Captain and waiters were extremely courteous and responsive. In fact, for the first time in my life, I saw that whenever I raised my hand, someone came up in a jiffy and got me whatever I required. Three to four guys turned up.

That's superb service.

The restaurant has a rich legacy, and the food lives up to the extravaganza of someone of the stature of Raj Kapoor, who inaugurated the restaurant way back in the middle of the...

Be it any time-honored restaurant or a simple snacking stall, you will often notice that all diners have made some upgrades. Especially in a city like Mumbai, it is difficult to find authentic places that gives you the same antiquated vibes with great comfort food even today. A fabulous example of such a restaurant is Pritam-Da-Dhaba situated in Dadar, Mumbai.

Pritam-Da-Dhaba has been an icon from four generations. For over 82 years, this iconic place has been city’s most imperative culinary landscape. Pritam has always been Bollywood stars favorite place to opt for Punjabi-styled food back then. With the film studios close by, Bollywood actors including Madhubala, Sunil Dutt, Dharmendra, Dilip Kumar would frequently visit this place. The later years have witnessed Yash Chopra, Zeenat Aman, Rekha, and Sridevi as well. You can get to see the pictures of all these iconic legends on their hall of fame as soon as you enter the restaurant. Pritam was also a favorite with sports dignitaries like Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar. With a history that stretches from pre-independence, post-independence, and even during the tough times of Covid, Pritam-Da-Dhaba has seen it all and has continued to delight their guests.

Whole of the city was introduced to butter chicken by this restaurant. I am extremely honored that Pritam-da-Dhaba gave me an opportunity to review them and taste the wonderful delicacies that they offer. You can choose to sit in their Dhaba Style seating arrangements or can dine in their restaurant section as per your mood. They offer both types of ambiance. Pritam’s Bar is one of the oldest bars of the city and this place is good to indulge in their delicious cocktails and in stunning selection of whiskeys or wines. We tried the “Jameson Mule” and “Sridevi” cocktails along with classic Virgin Mojito. The staff was extremely polite, full of respect towards all the guests and gave us good recommendations in food and drinks. For the appetizers they offered us “Karari Roti” and “Subzi Shammi Kebabs”. The flavors of the appetizers immediately teleported us mentally towards Punjab. For the mains they offered us “Butter Chicken”, “Palak Lasooni”, and “Rumali Rotis”. Me being a vegetarian I enjoyed the Palak Lasooni and the rumali roti a lot. My friends loved the Butter chicken as well as they stated it was full of flavors. The “Mirchiwale Ghee Chawal” also tasted yummy and gave me a feeling as if they were cooked in my own home-kitchen. For the desserts we had “Gulab Jamuns” and “Shahi Tukda” which again felt extremely home-cooked and good in taste.

Hailing from a prominent hospitality background, the current owner has recently started the Juhu outlet of Pritam-Da-Dhaba. This family also has several other restaurants including “MRP” and our well known “Grandmama’s café” as well.

Thank you Pritam-Da-Dhaba for such a great...

So we went here last week for our dinner. The place is 2mins walking distance from Dadar Station. This is a very old place and their dhaba like seatings are simply great! Totally give you that dhaba-like feeling while you munch on some of their yummy food & drinks as well. A perfect place for a family dinner I'd say. The place is pretty huge and they have indoor seating as well.

We were hosted by Mr. Amit Verma and he has been simply wonderful with his service to us. Recommended us some amazing food, kept a check on us for whatever we needed.

MOCKTAILS

• Angoori Chaska (4/5): This one was like Kala Khatta I can say. Was sweet an tangy.

• Peru Ka Chaska (4/5): Basically your Guava Mary. I absolutely love the salty taste this one has.

COCKTAIL

• Whiskey Sour (4/5): Your classic whiskey sour you can call for from here. • Cozy Rozy (3/5): This was a gin based cocktail which had a hint of rose flavour to it. This could've been better as it tasted a bit diluted.

• Watermelon Freezer (3/5): It was vodka based cocktail. Very refreshing!

• Kairi On Vodka (3/5): A tangy cocktail which was super good. A different cocktail which you can try out here.

FOOD

• Karari Roti (3/5): It's a big crisp roti with masala and ghee. This one goes so well with the mint chutney.

• Hara Paneer Tikka (4/5): An amazing appetizer which you can go for in veg! Was nicely marinated and was a bit spicy, but it was absolutely delicious.

• Lapeta Murg Kabab (4/5): This was a stuffed kebab with cheese and capsicum. The pieces of kababs were pretty big. This is something different for something to order in chicken.

• Chicken Tikka Angara (5/5): Really lovedd this!!! The flavours were so so good and the chicken was nicely juicy & tender too! This one is a classic tikka you must DEFINITELY order!

• Paneer Makhani (4/5): Something to go for in veg maincourse. The gravy was smooth and buttery for sure with generous amount of paneer chunks in it.

• Purani Delhi Shaan-Au-Shaukat (5/5): The Original Butter Chicken! This was so yummmm!!!! The buttery flavour was simply outstanding!!! These were boneless chicken pieces in a nice buttery-like gravy. YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS WHENEVER YOU VISIT THIS PLACE!!

• Murg Rarah (5/5): Again a chicken maincourse. Shredded chicken pieces in red gravy. This was on a spicy side but was absolutely yummy!

• Roti Basket (5/5): You can call for this if you want to try different types of roti from laccha & methi paratha to your classic roti and naan.

DESSERT

• Kulfi Falooda Khaas (4/5): Your meal is incomplete if you don't order a dessert in the end, right? This was really good!!!

This one's a must visit place, especially for some Punjabi food! Would really love to...